@vonlost You ask why need blind vs.need sensitive admissions is relevant in choosing a college.
As an applicant, its relevance relates to chances for admission. A student with need would typically fare better if a school had a need blind policy than if the same school had a need sensitive or need aware policy. For a student with no need, the opposite would be true.
As an admitted student, its relevance relates to socioeconomic diversity among classmates. A need blind school may be more socioeconomically diverse than a need sensitive or need aware school. Of course there are other more direct ways to measure socioeconomic diversity. According to @GoldPenn here: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2091006-socioeconomic-diversity-stats-by-pell-grant.html:
- Grinnell (need blind) - 22% of students receive Pell Grants
- Carleton and Trinity (both not need blind) - 13% of students receive Pell Grants